The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, US Supreme Court judge who is adjudged the champion of gender equality recently threw world leaders into world-wide mourning.
According to a statement from the Supreme Court, Ginsburg died of metastatic pancreas cancer at her home in Washington, DC aged 87.
“Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature,” Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement. “We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generation will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her – a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”
Ginsburg became a feminist hero and an social media icon, becoming fondly known as “The Notorious RBG”, a riff on the rapper, The Notorious B.I.G.
Local reports stated that she had endured a number of health issues. In July she announced that she was receiving chemotherapy treatment for a recurrence of cancer, a few months after being hospitalized with a gall bladder infection. In 2018, she fractured three ribs in a fall in her Washington office. She had pancreatic cancer in 2009 and colon cancer in 1999.
She had clung to her position despite her age and health, knowing that if she retired it could change the landscape of US justice.
President Trump led the tributes to Ginsburg, calling the judge who defied him on a number of occasions a “titan of the law”.
In a statement Trump posted on Twitter, he said her memory is a “great and magnificent blessing to the world”.
Leading Democrats including Hillary Clinton, Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg also paid tribute to her on Twitter.
Nancy Pelosi the Democrat Speaker of the House, said: “Tonight, the flags are flying at half staff over the Capitol to honor the patriotism of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Every woman and girl, and therefore every family, in America has benefitted from her brilliance”.
Biden, the Democratic nominee for the presidential election, said Ginsburg was a “giant in the legal profession”:
Reacting to the development, Clinton, who nominated her to the court, said: “America has lost one of the most extraordinary justices ever to serve on the Supreme Court. She was a magnificent judge and a wonderful person – a brilliant lawyer with a caring heart, common sense, fierce devotion to fairness and equality, and boundless courage in the face of her own adversity. Her 27 years on the Court exceeded even my highest expectations when I appointed her.”
On her part, Elizabeth Warren, the senator and former Democrat candidate for president in the 2020 election, said: “Ruthie was my friend and I will miss her terribly.”
The founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates tweeted that he was “inspired by her life and legacy”
Former President George W Bush said Ginsburg was an inspiration to “more than one generation of women and girls” while former President Jimmy Carter called her “a beacon of justice”:
Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau in a Twitter post, wrote “A profound and fearless advocate for women, equality, and justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s impact will undoubtedly be felt for generations. My thoughts are with her family, colleagues, and all who were inspired by her lifetime of service”.
